Producing Safe, High-Quality Egg
and Chicken Products
Texas egg and chicken farmers participate in several voluntary and mandatory programs to ensure the foods they produce are safe and of the highest quality for families across the state and nation. A few of these programs include: the Texas Egg Quality Program, USDA Egg Safety Final Rule, and the United Egg Producers' "5-Star" Egg Safety Program.
- Texas Egg Quality Program: The mission of the Egg Quality Program is to ensure that the eggs sold to Texas consumers meet quality standards, set by the Texas Department of Agriculture. The program inspects eggs at packing plants, distribution centers, and retail outlets; and licenses people and businesses that participate in the Texas egg industry.
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Egg Safety Final Rule: USDA's Egg Safety Final Rule requires U.S. egg farmers to take preventive measures during the production of eggs and requires subsequent refrigeration during storage and transportation. Annually, this regulation is expected to reduce the number of Salmonella Enteriditis infections from eggs by nearly 60%.
- United Egg Producers' "5-Star" Egg Safety Program: "5-Star" is a voluntary program that goes beyond the Egg Safety Final Rule's requirements to provide egg farmers with a comprehensive, dependable food safety program from the farm through processing.
